Funding

More information on the financial support available for our postgraduate research students.

PGR Support Funds application form

To apply, please complete the form here - PGR Support Funds application form. 

All PGRs taking fieldwork leave must also complete the Research fieldwork application form.  

For PGRs on the Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology (DECP) or Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (DCP) programme, please apply using the Prof Docs Support Fund application form.

Conference support fund

The PGR Conference Support Fund provides an equitable process to support PGRs in presenting at conferences. Awards cover travel, accommodation and conference fees. The award does not cover subsistence costs.

  • Awards will only be made to applicants who have a paper accepted and is a conference speaker. Poster presentation can also be considered under this fund.
  • All PGRs currently registered for either their prescribed programme of study (and part-time equivalent) on any doctorate programme within SEED are eligible to apply. PGRs who have submitted their thesis or where conferences take place after the submission pending period are not eligible to apply and will not be supported. Co-authored papers will only be considered if the amount of input is clearly defined. 
  • PGRs can receive funding for one conference per academic year only. The absolute maximum amount of School support is £1,500 per conference. 
  • This is a competitive process and the value of award granted may not always cover the full cost of conference attendance. Application for Conference Support Funding can be made at any point in the year.
  • Applications will be considered by the PGR Director and you will be informed of the outcome of your application approximately three weeks after the request has been made. 
  • To be eligible, PGRs must provide proof of having a paper accepted by the conference. (Letter/email from the conference provided will suffice). PGRs also need supervisor support for the application and will need to ask their supervisors to write a supporting statement indicating the relevance of the conference.
  • Please note that we are unable to award funding to PGRs with A Negative Service Indicator (NSI) on their student account. Any outstanding debts should be cleared prior an application being made
  • Please submit an application at PGR Support Funds Application Form
  • For PGRs on Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology (DECP) or Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (DCP) programme, please apply using this form.

Review process

The PGR Director and Doctoral Academy Funding team will review applications and grant awards. Successful applicants will be sent notification via their University email account.

The Conference Fund tends to be a highly competitive award and we do not anticipate being able to make an award to all students who are eligible. Recipients of awards may be expected to present their paper at a School seminar.

We expect all applications to be budgeted competitively, so, for example, the committee would not expect to fund expensive accommodation if adequate cheaper accommodation were available. (Please note that the University is unable to support bookings made through AirBnB).

If you have any further questions regarding the Conference Support Fund please contact the Doctoral Academy on Hums.doctoralacademy.funding@manchester.ac.uk.

Travel and Accommodation

All travel and accommodation should be booked through Key Travel. Full details can be found on the ‘Key Travel process’ tab below. The School are able to cover accommodation costs up to £80 - £100 per night. Accommodation requests should only be for the duration of the conference. We can also cover the night prior to the conference start date.

The university is committed to sustainable travel, where possible. There is a Sustainable Travel Top-Up Fund available via a separate application form. If your travel costs are more expensive due to selecting a journey with lower carbon emissions, you can apply for this top-up via the Sustainable Travel online form.

NB: If your application for the Sustainable Travel Top Up Fund is accepted, please inform the DA via hums.doctoralacademy.funding@manchester.ac.uk as the Top-Up Fund is not currently managed by the DA Funding Team.

Travel insurance

The University travel policy provides cover for students travelling on business such as fieldwork, conferences etc. and for any travel that is a compulsory element of a University award-bearing degree programme of study. For other travel, you should arrange your own insurance cover. For more information please see the Insurance Office website.

Liability cover

The University also has other insurance policies in place for protection in relation to public liability. Please see further information and contact the Insurance Office if you have queries.

Risk Assessment

Fieldwork support funding

Doctoral research students who undertake approved fieldwork away from The University of Manchester may apply for fieldwork support funding.

The support is available to help you with the added expenses of fieldwork. Your fieldwork costs must entail a level of cost above and beyond the normal expenses of attending the University as a student.

To be eligible to apply you must:

  • be fully registered for your Doctoral programme of study.
  • have applied to, or be in the process of applying to, all other plausible sources of financial support*.
  • have successfully passed the probationary year (Year 1 for full-time students, Years 1 and 2 for part-time students)
  • be undertaking approved fieldwork normally for a period of not less than one week and not more than twelve months.
  • your application should not be retrospective.

The maximum award payable under this scheme is £1,000 for UK fieldwork and £1,500 for overseas fieldwork for those on a full-time programme and half of these amounts for those on a part-time programme. Successful applicants can submit more than one claim up to the maximum permitted.

Note: If you receive funding through a UK Research Council or another fund provider, you will need to show, through a detailed budget, how you will use the School’s fieldwork support allowance to complement the resources offered by external bodies.

Additional 'top up' support

Students whose fieldwork will take place overseas and may incur higher costs can apply to increase their bursary by £500, a detailed case and justifications will be required for this and will require a full supporting statement from their supervisor and the form signed off by their Department Coordinator.

Students who have applied for the ‘Fieldwork Support Funding’ in previous years cannot apply for Fieldwork Support.

Application Process

Applications for fieldwork support can be submitted at any point in the academic year, however, students should not submit an incomplete application or submit an application without receiving the relevant ethical clearances. (if applicable)

To apply, please complete PGR Support Funds application form. You must have also had permission for fieldwork absence. If not, please submit the completed Humanities Doctoral Academy research fieldwork application form as soon as possible.

For PGRs on Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology (DECP) or Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (DCP) programme, please apply using this form.

Applications will be considered by a sub-Committee of the School Postgraduate Research Programmes Committee. You will be informed by email of the outcome of your application by the PGR Office approximately three weeks from submission of the request.

Payments are conditional on:

  • you receiving formal approval to undertake the fieldwork
  • you receiving ethical approval to undertake the fieldwork
  • completion, where applicable, of  risk assessments and insurance forms 
  • completion of the Student Absence Request Form found at the top of this page.
  • no Negative Service Idicators (NSI) present on student record. 

Students registered for the submission pending (writing up) period or have completed their programme are not eligible to claim from this support and should endeavour to make any claims prior to registering for the submission pending period. 

Examples of acceptable expenditure:

  • Travel - air, rail, petrol use
  • Travel books, stationery, batteries
  • Data pens
  • SIM Cards
  • Survey costs, e.g. printing, telephone calls
  • Reimbursement of interpreters, guides, assistants, transcription services
  • Purchasing inter-library loans / unavailable essential research texts

The above list is not exhaustive and just an example of what you could use. The School is unable to cover subsistence or accommodation costs under this fund.

Travel

All travel should be booked through the Key Travel. Full details can be found on the ‘Key Travel Process’ tab below.

The university is committed to sustainable travel, where possible. There is a Sustainable Travel Top-Up Fund available via a separate application form. If your travel costs are more expensive due to selecting a journey with lower carbon emissions, you can apply for this top-up via the Sustainable Travel online form.

NB: If your application for the Sustainable Travel Top Up Fund is accepted, please inform the DA via hums.doctoralacademy.funding@manchester.ac.uk as the Top-Up Fund is not currently managed by the DA Funding Team.

Travel insurance

The University travel policy provides cover for students travelling on business such as fieldwork, conferences etc. and for any travel that is a compulsory element of a University award-bearing degree programme of study. For other travel, you should arrange your own insurance cover. For more information please see the Insurance Office website.

Liability cover

The University also has other insurance policies in place for protection in relation to public liability. Please see further information and contact the Insurance Office if you have queries.

If you have any queries relating to the outcome of your application or the process for fieldwork support funding please contact the HUMS.doctoralacademy.funding@manchester.ac.uk

Risk assessment

 

Research training support

Doctoral research students in SEED can claim research training funding. This support grant can be used to help towards paying for certain expenses which the student and/or supervisor consider relevant for the student’s research and therefore deem necessary to undertake or provide the relevant provision to support the student.

Terms of use

  • Priority will be given to students who have never received this type of support grant in previous years.
  • If you are in receipt of funding that has research training support as part of the award, students should seek to apply for this first before, applying to the research training support.
  • Applications will be considered only when the supervisor certifies that the claim is in direct support of a student’s research and provides justifications where necessary.

What can this be used for?

  • Skills training courses i.e. methods@manchester
  • Language training courses (usually undertaken in the UK prior to an overseas fieldwork trip) 
  • Summer schools covering topics close to the student’s research theme

Who is eligible?

Doctoral research students full time in years 1- 3 and part-time equivalent including UK, EU and Overseas are eligible to apply. Submission pending students cannot apply for this. 

We are unable to award funding to PGRs with a Negative Service Indicator (NSI) on their student account. Any outstanding debts should be cleared prior an application being made.

What is not accepted?

Conference travelling costs, please refer to the Conference Support Fund.

This is a competitive process and the value of award granted may not always cover the full cost reuested. 

To submit an application for this funding please refer to the ‘PGR Support Funds Application Form’ link at the top of this webpage.

Students should also complete the Student Absence Request Form found at the top of this page form once approved.

Risk Assessment

Application process

To apply, please complete PGR Support Funds application form.

For PGRs on Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology (DECP) or Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (DCP) programme, please apply using this form.

Key Travel process

Key Travel is a specialised procurement system the University of Manchester uses to make academic transportation and lodging arrangements much more efficient and easy to arrange. Your profile details, which you only need to input once, will be imperative to any University-funded travel arrangements you need to make during the rest of your time at The University of Manchester.

As a doctoral PG Researcher with scope for conferences and fieldwork, we ask that you now please register with Key Travel by following the information below.

Step 1: Create a login

  • Go to the Key Travel website select ‘New online user’ and enter your university email address and click 'Request new password'.
  • Email Key Travel as soon as possible with your user ID should you have any technical difficulty procuring your login.

Step 2: Create a traveller profile

  • Select 'Create your own profile'
  • Refer to the Key Travel webinar if you are unsure of any details required to create your profile.
  • Please note that the fields relating to 'Redress number' and 'known traveller' relate only to specific travellers to the USA.
  • Please be aware that your preferences, for example, which direction you may prefer to sit on a train, may not be taken into account by all suppliers.
  • Profiles can be viewed and edited by the authorised person(s) only. For example, arrangers will not be able to view your personal information.
  • All profile data is encrypted and stored as per the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Information is only used for the purpose of each trip.

All the PG Researchers are activated on Key Travel with Standard access (look not book) and can follow the steps in the attached Getting started with key travel.

After you have created your profile, you can view all of the travel options available and send them to the PGR Office to book.

Instructions to book

  1. View travel options (flights, hotel, and rail)
  2. Select your preferred travel options and add to basket
  3. View Basket
  4. Share Quote - Once you’re happy to proceed with your selected options, send quote to seedschooloffice@manchester.ac.uk by sharing the quote details you can find out how to do this in the full documentation.

NB: Please note, you should obtain approval from the PGR Support Funds application process before proceeding with a Key Travel booking.

Postgraduate researchers should contact Key Travel on 0161 819 9797 for price matches if a cheaper quote is available on a different site.

Claiming expenses

Research Training Support Grant (RTSG)

Research council-funded students have access to additional funding and/or RTSG. Information about this is provided in your letter from the funding body. If in doubt, please ask your PGR programme Administrator.

ESRC-funded students

For ESRC NWDTC and ESRC NWSSDTP-funded students, please refer to the guides:

Additionally, please refer to the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide.

ESRC-funded students are eligible to apply for Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) to help with their research training costs. Usually, this is by submitting a claim form to your funding body for the expenses you have incurred. However, when RTSG is used to pay for a service (eg transcription, interpretation) or to pay research participants, the University can make payments your behalf.

You will need to seek a prior approval from your funding body first and liaise with either Nichola Ellis (nichola.ellis@manchester.ac.uk) in the Faculty of Humanities PGR office to check that the service supplier is eligible before making any arrangements with the supplier.

As required by the financial regulations and procedures, we will check that the supplier has a contract with the University and agreed to our terms and conditions. The University will then raise a purchasing order and pay the invoice when work has been completed.  

For Soc-B CDT, Data Analytics CDT-funded students, please contact your school administrator in the first instance.

AHRC-funded students

For AHRC NWCDTP-funded students, funding to help with skills training, placements, attending events, conferences, or going on fieldwork is available by application. Please refer to the NWCDTP website:

EPSRC DTP-funded students

For EPSRC DTP-funded students, your research training support grant allocation is indicated in the award letter. To make expense claims from your allocation, please contact your school administrator in the first instance.

Research training support for other studentships and linked projects

The PR7 form should be downloaded and be completed and submitted to the relevant PGR Office together with:

  • A table of items and amounts claimed if there are more than two items
  • Full, original receipts attached to the form
  • Students should include their P code/finance code and their Student ID number in the relevant sections, check with the PGR Office pgr-seed@manchester.ac.uk for your P code/finance code as incomplete forms will be returned and will delay this process.

The above are procedures laid down by the University's central finance office and claims submitted which do not adhere to this will be returned unprocessed. It is therefore important that you include everything required with your claim made and may result in an application being rejected.

Any equipment purchased with a cost of over £200 will remain the property of the University once the student has completed their programme of study and should be returned to the School once a student has completed their programme.

Maintenance awards

How will I receive my maintenance stipend from my internally funded, ESRC or AHRC award?

Maintenance awards are paid directly into your bank account via Campus Solutions. Most awards are paid monthly. You must ensure you have input your UK bank account to your record. You do this by going into your MyManchester, choosing the funding portal and selecting the ‘Bank Account Details’ link.

You can view your maintenance award when you log onto self-service, choose campus finances then financial aid. When you log onto this service if you see a button to put on your bank account details please do so as this means that the University does not have these details on your record.

If you cannot see your maintenance stipend or if it has not been set up as you expected, please contact HUMS.doctoralacademy.funding@manchester.ac.uk as soon as possible.

Please note that payment of maintenance awards will automatically stop if you have not fully completed registration. Most maintenance awards also stop during periods of approved interruption.

You can find the award payment dates on Student Support website.

I have not received my maintenance payment, what should I do?

Please contact the Student Funding Team in the Student Services Centre in the first instance.

Early thesis submission

For students receiving funding administered/funded by The University of Manchester, please note that funding terminates at the point of thesis submission. Students receiving funding from external bodies should refer to their funder.

ESRC and AHRC studentships

AHRC and ESRC funded students

NWCDTP and NWSSDTP-funded PGRs are eligible for funding to support their research as outlined in the studentship offer letter. This includes Research Training Support Grant (RTSG), Overseas Fieldwork Funding (OSFW), Internships, Overseas Institutional Visits (OIV) and Fieldwork and Conference Fund, subject to eligibility. They must therefore apply for such support from NWCDTP or NWSSDTP rather than from the School.

Further information including student funding guides and contact details can be found on the Faculty of Humanities intranet:

Research council funded students should direct their queries to their School doctoral programme office in the first instance. 

ESRC NWSSDTP and AHRC NWCDTP doctoral studentships

Students in the first year of their doctoral degree may apply for ESRC North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership studentship or AHRC North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership to fund their second and third years, subject to eligibility.

To find out about the details of the studentships, eligibility criteria and how to apply please visit:

Other funding opportunities

Apart from funding provided by your School, you may be eligible to apply for other funding for different purposes such as research equipment purchases, research projects, conference attendance, study visits, institutional visits, exchanges. Please see below:

The University of Manchester Living Cost Support Fund

The Living Cost Support Fund is a University scheme that exists thanks to generous donations from alumni and friends who want to ensure that no Manchester student is left struggling. If you are experiencing financial hardship, either as a result of the COVID-19 crisis or otherwise, please apply to us for support.

The fund is open to all students, regardless of level of study or nationality. It is open all year round and can award grants and loans to help you overcome financial hardship or unforseen expenses.

For information about eligibility criteria and application process, please see Living Cost Support Fund website. 

UK Doctoral Loan

If you’re coming to Manchester this year to begin or continue postgraduate doctoral research, you could qualify for a loan from the UK government. Please see eligibility criteria and how to apply on the website below.